Centre for Health Services Research at the School of Health and Psychological Science, City, University of London welcomes Norm Good to discuss their findings on whether the Healthlink model could remove several barriers that inhibit integrated models of care and promote innovation to produce better outcomes for patients in Australia as part of the research seminar series.
Abstract
Current models of care and funding systems in Australia for managing chronic disease are largely designed to be responsive to single episodes of acute care.
The Victorian Department of Health developed a flexible funding model which aimed to improve care for patients at high risk of unplanned hospital admissions, many of whom had chronic and complex conditions.
The initiative investigated whether the model could remove several barriers that inhibit integrated models of care and promote innovation to produce better outcomes for patients. Four hospital and health services participated in the trial with an additional three acting as control hospitals.
Each of the participating hospitals undertook their own unique intervention, ranging from redesigns of existing services to advanced coaching models using tele-care guides.
Most outcomes measured in this evaluation showed little effect for those patients directly involved in an intervention apart from hospital and ED length of stay measures for one health service.
Patients from flexibly funded health services seemed to have reduced ED presentations and length of stay in the ED; however, it is unclear whether this is because of flexible funding or differences in outcome trajectories before flexible funding commenced.
There is an emerging view that the effects on patient outcomes from chronic disease models of care may be more apparent in the longer term, suggesting health policy takes a similar view when trialling new initiatives.
About the speaker
Norm Good leads the Health Implementation Science team within CSIRO’s digital health research program at the Australian eHealth Research Centre.
Norm is the programs lead researcher in Implementation Science and has considerable experience in evaluating evidence-based approaches for translating health care research into practise.
Norm led a large (40,000 enrolled patients) three-year evaluation of a chronic care trial in collaboration with nine health services in Victoria. Norm is leading two additional health implementation trials and contributes to the development of evaluation and implementation plans for several others.
Prior to joining CSIRO Mr. Good was a Stock Assessment Modeller with the QLD Dept of Primary Industries and Fisheries for five years. Mr. Good has authored 63 research papers with an h-index of 18.
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